Canadian Carbon Intensity Indicator reporting requirements

Transport Canada has issued a ship safety bulletin SSB No. 05/2024 regarding reporting requirements for the Canadian Carbon Intensity Indicator.

The document was published on 23 January 2024.

This bulletin applies to Canadian vessels that are:

5,000 gross tonnage and above;
operating in Canadian waters including within the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River; and
Travelling to ports of the United States provided the vessel voyages to these ports comprise 50% or less of annual trips.

This includes:

bulk carriers
self-unloading bulk carriers
tankers
ro-ro passenger
general cargo
ro-ro cargo
container

This bulletin does not apply to vessels designated as Category A under the Polar Code or to government vessels.

Purpose:

This bulletin explains new reporting requirements for reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from the Canadian fleet that operate on voyages laid out in the Scope. These requirements will be included in the updated Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations.

What you need to know

In June 2021, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted measures to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping including the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) a measure of how efficiently a vessel transports goods or passengers. Through several studies, Transport Canada and the maritime industry found that most of the Canadian fleet could not meet these requirements due to the Canadian vessels’ unique design and operational traits. The Government of Canada has developed national GHG reduction targets. To address GHGs from the domestic fleet, Transport Canada has decided that the best approach is to apply the IMO measures as much as possible, while factoring-in the unique technical and operational traits of the Canadian fleet.

Requirements for Authorized Representatives

The Canadian Carbon Intensity Indicator (CCII) data collection requirements begin January 1, 2024. The Authorized Representative (AR) of the vessel should update the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) of each applicable vessel and submit to Transport Canada by March 31, 2024.

Fuel oil consumption data for each vessel should be submitted by March 31st of each calendar year to calculate the annual attained CCII.

How to Verify and Submit Data

The AR is to ensure that the SEEMP of each applicable vessel is updated and that a Confirmation of Compliance has been received from one of Transport Canada Recognized Organization (RO).

The RO will document and verify the vessel’s annual attained CCII against the required annual operational CCII to determine the vessel’s operational carbon intensity rating (A, B, C, D or E).

Corrective Action Plan

If a vessel receives a D rating for three consecutive years, or rated E at any time, the AR of the Company will need to develop a corrective action plan to achieve the required annual operational CCII.

The corrective action plan should be added to a revised Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan and verified by the recognized organization within one month of reporting the attained annual operational Canadian Carbon Intensity Indicator.

The RO will issue a Statement of Compliance no later than May 31 and forward a copy to Transport Canada.

For more information, please see the document below (available only to subscribers):